Injury plagued stand-off returns to inspire Glasgow Hawks victory

Oct 9 2008 By Matthew Leslie

MIKE ADAMSON announced his return in style as he bagged a try to help Glasgow Hawks thrash Stirling County 42-8.

The stand-off had been plagued by injuries over the past 12 months but all the pain and heartache was washed away with a superb display.

Over a year ago, things looked rosey for Adamson as the Glasgow Warriors offered him a professional contract but his spell in the treatment room has delayed his progress - although Hawks boss Peter Wright states, "better late than never".

Wright said: "It's great to have Mike back with us and as everyone who was at the game saw, he has a point to prove after such a long spell out.

"In fact, it was his first match for quite some time and the level of intensity he showed made his display even more remarkable.

"Mike is quick, has good hands and has a great kicking game. As long as he gets a run of games under his belt, it won't be long before the Warriors recall him."

Ian Noble, Steve Gordon, Jono Wright and Gavin MacDonald also ran in tries as Hawks racked up their second win in succession leading some to wonder on what secret weapon boss Wright has stumbled upon given their poor start to the current campaign.

He added: "There's no magic formula to our turnaround - if there was then I could make myself a wee fortune.

"A number of things have contributed to this - we had good bounces of the ball these last two games and a bit of luck in the one that broke our duck at Currie.

"Plus we've persisted with the same nucleus of players and they have slowly gelled and you will notice that we look more like a team than in the first few weeks."

Next up for Hawks on Saturday at Old Anniesland is Melrose who Wright is surprised to find at the wrong end of the table.

He continued: "They'll be hurting and if I know their coach Craig Chalmers he'll have them motivated for us.

"I thought they'd be at the top end but they've been unlucky with injuries this season."

WEST OF SCOTLAND found league leaders Ayr too hot to handle as they lost 27-0. In Division Two, GHA fell 14-3 to Dundee HSFP while in the third division, Hillhead/Jordanhill be at Livingston 44-10 while Cartha QP saw off Ardrossan Accies 27-6.